Launching in late May, the device is cheaper than the Nexus 5 and has better specs.

New smartphone startup OnePlus has finally released the details of its flagship phone, the OnePlus One. The Chinese company was founded in December of last year by the former vice president of Oppo, another boutique smartphone company.

That may be a lot of brand names you've never heard of, but the specs could pique your interest. OnePlus seems out to pack in the very best of everything, with a 2.5Ghz Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch 1080p LCD, a 13MP Sony Exmor camera, a 3100 mAh battery, and 16 or 64 GB of storage. The final enthusiast-wooing kicker is that the device runs CyanogenMod, a community-driven variant of Android geared toward advanced users.

OnePlus' Oppo heritage is clearly visible in the One. The design looks identical to the Oppo Find 5—which consequently causes a problem with the navigation button layout. OnePlus gives you the option of capacitive or on-screen buttons, but neither choice is ideal. The capacitive buttons feature the long-dead Menu button, and the button order is backward when compared to a standard layout. The Oppo Find 5 used an Android skin that relied on the Menu button, but CyanogenMod mostly uses the stock Android interface, so the button will be worthless. There will presumably be an option to make the Menu button open the Recent Apps list, but you can't change the printed label. Your other option is to kill the backlight on the capacitive buttons and use on-screen buttons, but then you have to deal with what looks like a very large bottom bezel.

A few parts of the OnePlus design are just a little crazy: "Our custom cut and engineered PCB boards are specially dyed and treated with a matte black finish, with each part meticulously aligned to be visually pleasing and functional. Even the most delicate inner components bear a OnePlus logo." It's hard for us to reconcile this apparent internal attention to detail with a recycled Find 5 exterior and inappropriate button layout.

OnePlus and CyanogenMod are packing a lot of great features into the One. The device will run the yet-to-be-completed CyanogenMod 11s, which is based on Android 4.4.2. Tap-to-wake is here, and there even seems to be a Motorola-style, always-on listening mode. There are also the usual CyanogenMod features like a theming engine, configurable Quick Settings, and encrypted SMS messages (provided both ends support it). Getting speedy software updates on a CyanogenMod-based device should be a major concern for customers. The Nexus family usually takes up to two weeks to update to the latest version, Google Play devices take a month, skinned phones take about three months, and CyanogenMod usually takes about six months.

Despite the "never settle" sales pitch, data hoarders will still be able to find fault with the device, thanks to the lack of an SD card slot. The 64GB internal storage option makes this omission sting a little less, but it looks like OnePlus has underestimated some people's insatiable thirst for smartphone storage. There's also no removable battery.

There are two color options, which are tied to the storage options. The $299 16GB version comes in white, and the $349 64GB version comes in black. Both prices are for a contract-free, unlocked device. Those prices seem insanely low for the specs, rivaling even the dirt-cheap Nexus 5. Many people assumed Google wasn't making any money on the Nexus 5, but here we have a much smaller company undercutting Google with a bigger phone with better specs.

We aren't seeing an obvious area where the company has cut corners, either. The device has dual-band b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, stereo speakers, a notification LED, a dual-LED flash, and all of the usual sensors. The main question left is build quality. We should get an idea of how well this thing is made during the US press event, which Ars will be attending on April 29.

The One is an unlocked GSM device, supporting GSM bands 850/900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA bands 1/2/4/5/8, and LTE bands 1/3/4/7/17/38/40. In the US, the device will be compatible with T-Mobile and AT&T, but many Europeans will see limited LTE support.

The One is launching in late May in 16 regions: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The biggest catch will actually be buying one of the devices; right now, orders seem limited to a Google Glass-style "invite to purchase" system. OnePlus One owners will receive a few purchase invites that they can send out, and those new owners will get invites, and so on. The company is also holding a drawing for early purchases in two days, where winners will be able to purchase the One for $1 in exchange for smashing their current phone.

OnePlus may have a winner on its hands with specs and prices like these. We'll have more on the OnePlus One after the US press event on April 29.

Ron Amadeo
Ron is the Reviews Editor at Ars Technica, where he specializes in Android OS and Google products. He is always on the hunt for a new gadget and loves to rip things apart to see how they work. Emailron@arstechnica.com//Twitter@RonAmadeo